Apparatus for treating oil



May 15, 1928.

C. P. DUBBS APPARATUS FOR TREATING OIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lPatented May 15, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT j orales.

CARBON P. DUBBS, OF WILMETTE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO UNIVERSAL OIL PROD'U'CTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F SOUTH DAKOTA.

APPARATUS FOR TBEATING OIL. l

Continuation of application Serial No.

This application is a continuation of my application, Serial No. 420,871, filed November 1, 1920. 'c

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for treating oil and refers more particularly to an apparatus for pressure.

headers between which 'is interposed a plu rality of aerials, any one or more of which may be cut out of operation. The uncondensed va ors pass from the delivery header of the re ux condenser to a. final condenser and thence to a main receiver. The ressure can be regulated from the outlet si e of the receiver. The reflux condensate is also continuously returned to the stills for further treatment.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation of my improved apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

These views are somewhat diagrammatic.

Referrinv in detail to the drawings, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 dse'signate a battery of stills (from live to twenty stills or more may constitute a battery). These stills lare mounted .in suitable furnaces whereby they may be preferably independently heated. Eachstill is provided with a residue drawoi pipe 6, hav-- ing a throttle valve 7, andA a pressure gauge 8. Oil is introduced into the stills by means of a pump 9, the inlet4 side ofwhich is connected to a pipe having valve 11 to any suitable source of raw oil supply., The discharge side of the pump isconnected to a line 12, leading to a delivery header 13. This deliver header 13 is provided with a plurality o branches 14, each having a throttle valve 15. Each branch 14 is rovided with an extension 16 extending into each still near the lower end of the latter,

420,871, led November 1, 1920. This application iled Kay 7, 1925. Serial No. 28,726.

this extension 16 being perforated as shown at 17, in order to discharge the fresh oil through these perforations along the entire length of the still. The. arrangement is such that by suitably regulating the valves 15, fresh oil may be fed to any one or more of the stills. Each still is provided with a vapor outlet pipe 18, connecting to the lower end of a header 19. This header 19 is provided with pressure gauge 20 and its lower end is provided with a reflux condensate drawoii pipe 21 which pipe 21 is connected to the suction side of the pump 9. Each pipe 18 is provided with a throttle valve 23, by which the pipe may be entirely closed and with automatic reducing valve 24 and check-valve 25, the latter tending only to permit the vapors to pass into the header 1,9 but closing against pressure from the header 19. (In certain cases hereinafter referred to, these check-valves 25 may be taken out of the pipes 18.) The header 19 is connected to a having throttle valve 22,

plurality of upwardly inclined aerial condenser pipes 26, the upper. ends of .these pipes 26 being in turn connected to the bottom of a second header 27. Throttle valves 28 and 29 are interposed in either end of each pipe' 26 whereby any given pipe may be cut out vof the system in the event there is an excess of aerial condensing surface. The upper end of the header 27 is connected by vapor line 30 having throttle valve 31 -to the top of condenser coil 32, seated in condenser box 33. The lower end of this coil y 32 is connected by pipe 34 to the top of recoiver 35.- This receiver 35 Vis provided with p ressuregauge 36, liquid level gauge 37, distillate drawoflI pipe 38', controlled by throtle valve 39 and gas outlet pipe 40 controlled by throttle valve 41. e

The process may bc. operated-as follows'. IVe willassume that stills 1, 2 and 3 of the battery are charged with Oklahoma.gas oil of say, 31 dogs. Baum gravity. the valves 23 closed and the stills charged from one half to two thirds full with said gas oil and the stills heated until an oil temperature of 700 to 750 degs. F. has been reached and the vstills are under a vapor pressure of 135 f valves.

valves on the receiver. (In this case, I will dispense with the check valves 25.) The automatic reducing valves 24; are so set as to maintain a diil'erence in pressure of say, 10 pounds; while the pressure on the s till is 135 pounds, the pressure on the condensing part or' the' apparatus is 125 pounds. Inasmuch as only part of the battery is now in operation, the remainder of the stills are cut out of the system by closing the proper 'Ihere will now probably be an excess of aerial surface, so a plurality of pipes 26 are cutout ot' 'the retlux condenser by closing their corresponding valves 28 and 29. .As the vapors pass out the inclined aerial lines 26, the heavier fractions thereof will condense and be returned to the bottom header 19 by' gravity and thence delivered by means of the pipe 21 to the feed pump 9. By means of the valve 22, the How of the condensate to the pump may be regulated. Fresh oil may be continuously fed in regulated quantities to the stills of the battery which are in use, and the residue constantly drawn oil'. In this way, the process may be continuous. It' desired, the charging stock may be fed intermittently or' the process may be operated as a batch process.

In case the process isoperated as a batch process, after the stills in use are charged,

the valve 11 will be shut. The reflux condensate can be continuously returned `to the stills then-on stream and recracked.

As another way of operating the apparatus and process, it may be operatedzas a hatch process and the reflux condensatoreturned to stills 4 and 5 ot' the battery and there heated to any temperature desired, which temperature might for example be 800 to 850 degrees F., as this reflux condensate mixed with many oils is more ditlicult to crack than is the raw charging stock. Where the process is operated in this manner, the branches leading from the feed header 13 to the stills l, 2 and 3 are cut out of the system by closing the valves 15.

I have stated that in operating the process in accordance with the methods above described, the check valves 25 may be eliminated. The process may be operated by leaving these valves in and operating the apparatus as before. The apparatus may also be operated in substantially the manner previously described in detail except that the reducing valves 24 may be taken out or bypassed in a suitable manner (unnecessary l here to show) in which case, the whole systern may operate under the same pressure of say, 135 pounds. lVhere the check-valves are used, of course, no incondensable gas can flow back into the stills. Also where the automatic reducing valves are used, they may be so adjusted that substantially no incondeplsable gas can low by them back into the sti s.

nemica It is to be understood that all the stills ot the battery may be used at the same time but they shouldl be preferably kept out of the system until .they are 'ready to go on stream or otherwise produce a substantially normal hourly yield ot' the desired pressure distillate. By means ot the vprocesses above described, over 50% of the gas oil may be converted into pressure distillate having a Baume gravity of from 5l to 5l degs.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for cracking oil, the combination with a battery of stills, of a re- I'lux condenser comprising a pair ot' inain hea-ders, aerial pipes interposed therebetween, connections b'etween one header and the vapor space of each still, connections between the other header and a final condenser, means for cutting out of the system one or more aerial pipes, pressure regulating valves interposed between the stills and the header connected to the vapor space of said stills, means for v drawing, o' reux condensate from one of said headers, and means for retuil'ning said reflux condensate to any of said sti ls.

2. In an apparatus for cracking oil, the combination with a battery of stills, of a reflux condenser comprising a pair ot' main headers, aerial pipes interposed therebebetween, connections between one header and the vapor space of each still, connections between the other header and a final condenser, pressure Iregulating valves interposed between the stills and the header connected to the vapor space of said stills, means for drawing off reiiux condensate from one of said headers, and means for returning said reiiux condensate to any of said st-ills.

3. In an apparatus for cracking oil, the combination with a battery of stills, of a reflux condenser comprising a pair of main headers, laerial pipes interposed therebetween, connections between one header and the vapor space of each still, connections between the other header and a final condenser, means for drawing oif reilux condensate from one of said headers, and means for returning said reflux condensate to any of said stills.

4. In an apparatus for cracking oil, the combination with a battery of stills, of a reiuxcondenser comprising a pair of main headers, aerial pipes interposed therebetween, connections between one `header and the vapor space of each still, connections between the other header and a final condenser, mean-s for cutting out of the system one or more aerial pipes, pressureregulating stills.

5. In an apparatus for cracking oil, the

combination with a battery of stills, of a reux condenser comprising a plurality of main headers, aerial pipes interposed therebetween, connections between one of said headers and the vapor space of each still, connections between another of said headers and a final condenser, means for cutting out of the system one or more aerial pipes` coinprising valves located respectively at each end of each aerial pipe and adjacent the inain headers, pressure regulating valves interposed between the stills` and the header connected to the Vapor space of said stills.

G. In an apparatus for crackin oil, the combination with a battery of stills, of a reux condenser comprising a pair of main headers, aerial pipes interposed therebetween, connections between one header and the vapor space ot' each still, connections between the other header and aA final condenser, means for cutting out of the system one or more stills, and means for cuttingr out of the system one or more aerial pipes, pressure regulatincr valves interposed between the stills` and the header connected to the vapor space of said stills.

CARBON P. DUBBs. 

